Summary

King County Executive Dow Constantine today thanked the Metropolitan King County Council for confirming his appointee for Director of the Department of Development and Environmental Services, the building and land use permitting agency for unincorporated King County. John Starbard has served as acting director since March 1.

Story

King County Executive Dow Constantine today thanked the Metropolitan King County Council for confirming his appointee for Director of the Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES), the building and land use permitting agency for unincorporated King County. John Starbard has served as acting director since March 1.

"DDES is now on course to provide more effective customer service that our residents can count on, thanks to John's leadership," said Executive Constantine. "I thank the Council for recognizing that under John's management we can improve the way DDES processes permits and usher in its future serving a predominantly rural base."

"I'm honored by the trust placed in me by the Council and Executive," said Starbard. "Confirmation in my new role enables me to continue our important work to make our permit processing more efficient and customer-focused, and to prepare for our future as a rural service agency."

Starbard developed the Executive's initial reform package for DDES sent to the Council last month, which calls for:

• Developing a new fee structure for permit processing that replaces hourly rate fees with flat fees wherever practicable, in order to provide greater incentives for internal efficiencies and greater predictability for customers;
  
  
• Developing a new Rural Permitting Unit designed specifically to process permits for and provide customer assistance to rural property owners; and

• Continuing to encourage cities to absorb their potential annexation areas in order to position DDES as a permitting agency that primarily serves the rural areas.

Starbard previously served as city manager for both Newcastle and Maple Valley.

More DDES initiatives:

www.kingcounty.gov/permits